A simple, easy to understand limit on where “Responsible Drinking” ends, put into law.

80% of the program budget spent on educating users about staying under Point 08, and the risks of binge drinking.

20% of the program budget spent on targeted, on street, pedestrian RBT.

No information given letting readers know that only campaigns with a hard legal edge work! (WHO)

No information about the failure of RSA nor the litany of tragic outcomes from this failure of government policy.

No information about how P-RBT could routinely detect and divert, underage alcohol users, goon baggers – nor how it would clean up Kings Cross, other Sydney and NSW trouble spots, including public transport.

It’s not serious is it? Just an absence of facts about a deadly serious subject.

With one of the world’s largest problems dealing with alcohol, the UK is struggling to assertively introduce sensible, researched regulations to mitigate against the omnipresent marketing success of Big Liquor.

The UK appear to be choking on an inability to confront the mega corporations dominating their communities. There seems to be a reluctance to take on one of the key tactics with this amazingly powerful lobby. This is to call them to account for what they are, what they have done, and what they continue to do.

UK A&E Departments and Ambulance paramedics should be clamoring for random pedestrian breath testing and a pedestrian 08 law.

This is a behaviour changing policy model that works. Comprehensively works.

The efficiency and effectiveness of random breath testing cannot be doubted.
As part of its summer routine, Victoria Police via their vaunted Booze Bus Teams took control of our roads, barely inconvenienced a safe driver, and RBT’d an astonishing 1.1 million drivers over a 50 day period.
The Melbourne Herald Sun reports this operation – Operation Summer Stay – put 2610 over the limit drivers – off the road. They lost their licenses.
How effective is random breath testing as a societal wide, behaviour changing program?
This is the quote that reveals the answer:

Mr Walshe said the drink-driving test rate of one positive per 432 motorists was poor, but an improvement on one in 332 last year.

This means that VicPol had to test 432 motorists to find and remove 1 drunk from the road.
Last year, they had to test 332, to find and remove their one drunk.
This number, by and large, keeps improving.
DUI drivers are being removed from our roads.
We need to keep up this good work and extend the same model of enforcement and behaviour change to our streets. To our entertainment (drinking) districts employing pedestrian random breath testing.
The model is proven! Beyond doubt.
Meanwhile, this humble site, made the big time in the US, featuring on reddit.com, the social media site, upon which a group called “crippling alcoholism” has been created.
This is the discussion.Warning, the site link above contains a four letter word.
A lot of obviously distressed and unwell people on this site…
I did my best to engage, prior to being – politely – banned from the group.
I don’t wonder why! [Edit: Note: I’ve recently gone back to the site, and, showing a level of intellectual and cultural cowardice, this site has removed all my contributions with “[deleted]”. Giving yet another example of why so many drinkers are totally unaware of the toxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and addictive nature of their recreational drug…]
And thanks to producers and Louise Saunders of the ABC Hobart for the spot this morning on the discussion surrounding drunk driving / dui.
It seems that the idea of mandatory RBT machines in all pubs, thus enabling fewer surprises, better education via the audio visual education facilities these machines can bring, and of course, a totally unambiguous, easy to understand, maximum pedestrian BAC Limit, went down well with the listening public.

Although her police and ambulance officers and A & E staff are getting bashed most nights by the alcohol afflicted, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally recently said “wowsers” to Scott Weber, the NSW Police Union, Ambulance Paramedics and their colleagues, the Doctors, Nurses and Security Staff at our Accident and Emergency Departments.

5.3% doesn’t look much, but, some of our now successful political parties and politicians started with less…

Democracy Doesn’t Come Cheap!I suggest you read Norman Thompson’s article on NSW party political funding in New Matilda.

A Quote for those too busy to click:

In the past 10 years while Labor has been in power, the AHA and hotels companies have contributed over $4.5 million to the NSW ALP. The Coalition only managed to obtain a little over $2 million during this period.

Every alcohol dollar given to Labor, Liberals and others in NSW was based on Addiction and or Binge Drinking. That’s the rub. That’s why funding of political parties by the purveyors of addictive substances is so wrought with moral dilemmas. Have no doubt, the money received was based to a large degree on the grief of addicts and their families and the strangers they hit, hurt, killed or injured.

Spending $450 k a year on most things can go a long way to achieving your aims.

What’s this got to do with Pedestrian 08?

It’s important to realise the connections between Big Liquor, Advertising, Sponsorship, Media Involvement, Politicians and political parties and the fact that laws and regulations are written to INCREASE binge drinking. Thereby creating a greater need for pedestrian 08.

Such joint, concerted operations aimed at the victims of Big Liquor should be encouraged.

Note that the alcohol affected are victims too.

Many lives would have been saved from either death or injury because of this operation.

Many, many more would be saved if the messagewas more clearly spelled out!

Few of the arrested and fined idiots caught up in this operation would have a clear idea of when exactly they went wrong.

Will they change their behaviour? Do they know how much is too much? How many will be repeat offenders?

Whereas, a motorist pulled over for a breathalyser will know exactly where the boundaries are, where and when their transgression commenced and what the probable penalties would be.

How many of the alcohol afflicted caught up in Operation Unite would have gone home knowing exactly what went wrong – what was it exactly that was illegal? – and what point in time was their errant behaviour was set in motion?

What Operation Unite needs at its core, is a clear boundary to enforce.

What Operation Unite needs to enforce is responsible drinking.

You need to clearly define what responsible drinking is, in the context of mixing with your fellow citizens in public, in order to have any chance of getting past the message “Don’t upset the police!” – which may in fact be the only campaign message being transmitted during Operation Unite.

Note, that you cannot get an clear, easily understood answer from police, Big Liquor or Government to this question:

What is responsible drinking?

This boundary should be the maximum safe blood alcohol content for a pedestrian: A BAC of point 08.

That’s a simple, easy to understand, true message in need of Government and community promotion.

If you work for a police force, ask for it and get your colleagues to ask for it:

We want a max BAC of 08 for Pedestrians

Advertise it, Educate the public, Enforce it, like you enforce point 05 for motorists.

Reporter Kerrie Ritchie and victim of a previous train violence assault Paul Taylor had to leave their Frankston train due to the fear invoked by alcohol fuelled, fellow patrons.
Not all violence on our trains is alcohol related, but the statistics are compelling:70% of all assaults in Australia have alcohol at their core.

The subject of this story was previously a victim of Frankston Line Train Rock Battering Incident described in the Herald Sun here:

Train Assault Victim Tim Redmond injured 4th June 2010

In the ABC story, Paul tells the story of the terror he and his young son experienced.

They were part of a football crowd returning home. AFL football events are often Binge Drinking Events…

Some good can come out of this story if the wider ABC starts listening to real people like Paul with these real experiences.

Fight them off with Opera
Quote of the year for me comes from Paul Taylor who said of the violence on trains:

The problem is we tippy-toe around the problem. We play music to scare them off, like you know, ban smoking on the streets of Frankston to move them on. You know we’re just too scared these days to come out and say ‘that’s not tolerated. Stop’. We don’t want do that, we don’t want to confront them, we’d rather fight them off with opera.

Someone please get the word to Paul and Kerrie Ritchie and crew.
A Pedestrian 08 law and program of enforcement would have eliminated every incident he and Kerrie Ritchie and crew filmed for this excellent segment.
Multiple attempts have been made to contact the ABC.
With the exception of ABC South Australia, we haven’t been able to elicit any interest.